Two sides
by Izzu
Summary: Dramaverse. What could have happen if two unlikely people happened to meet one day?


az: R&R as usual. Being very random. The canon for Tantei Gakuen Q would be from the drama version. Or else the little reference that concerns Amakusa Ryu and Ainosuke won't make any sense.

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Two sides

Written by Izzu alias honou-no-izumi

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Three years ago...

Amakusa Ryu stared aimlessly from over the bridge as he appeared to be thinking very deeply. The expression he wore was very serious, as if he had been carrying a very huge burden. Seeing that look, certainly anyone could not help but be a little bit concerned.

"Having that kind of look for someone so young, I can't help thinking... what a pity. Certainly someone your age can't be having such grave burden to warrant such expression on your adorable face..."

The boy twitched in alarm, it appeared that he hadn't expected anyone to notice him. He turned around as he addressed the young man who had suddenly greeted him.

"What do you mean? A kid like me can't have things that I'd worry about deeply?"

The young man smiled.

"No... not at all. It's just... I couldn't help myself. Especially when I happened to know someone whom you reminded me of. That person was very dear to me and I had always hated to see his troubled look whenever he had some problems. So seeing you frowning over there, alone by yourself... I could not help but be concerned. Do you have some kind of problem?"

Ryu shrugged to himself.

"Perhaps. But I wouldn't want to trouble you about it, seeing you're only someone I've just met."

The young man smiled again as he lifted his left hand to make some kind of a Fleming sign.

"Don't worry. You can just tell me your problem. Considering that I am someone unrelated, perhaps I could give you an advice from an outsider's point of view."

Ryu looked up towards him, slightly torn between staying or just walk away from the man. But after a moment of hesitation, he relented and turned back facing the edge of the bridge.

"Ne... _niisan, _how would you feel to be in the shadow of a very evil person? In that... no matter how you were so against that person's way of life, you cannot escape from that person?"

The man cocked his head at the kid.

"About that... are you talking about yourself?"

Ryu immediately turned around.

"No, just a friend of mine."

The man had just smiled in acknowledgement without asking further.

"So... this _friend_ of yours, did he find such thing very painful for him to bear alone?"

Ryu shrugged. "He wouldn't mind it if it was just himself, but that evil person was capable of hurting so many people... including his own friends. That man... as well as his followers, were very cruel. Somehow... that scared him."

Ryu noticed the concerned look from the man again as the man walked to his side, leaning on the handrails.

"Do the friends of your friend know about this?"

"No."

"But you're worried when they finally do, don't you?"

"I am—I mean... he was, I guess. Those friends... were very important to him, even if he never did truly tell them about his real feelings. He... was very afraid that those important friends would leave him when they found out the truth but he knew that he would not be able to keep the secret for so long..."

The man sighed.

"It was troublesome, isn't it? But kid, that friend of yours... truly hate that evil lineage that ran in his blood, didn't he? He sounded like he really wanted to fight his fate. I think... if his friends were really true to him, they would be able to understand his circumstances."

"You really think so?"

The man laughed. It was very amusing to see the kid looking very surprised at hearing his words. He shrugged.

"I wonder if our meeting here was fated... like that."

Ryu glanced sideways to him as he frowned at him.

"Fated?"

The man nodded.

"You know... I've been writing a script all this time. It's about two brothers who somehow had their lives changed dramatically when they had been young. The brothers had been kidnapped before and due to some twist of fate, their life had been ruined as their parents ended their lives in shame. The older brother... had ended up killing one of the kidnappers in order to protect his younger brother..."

The man sighed again as Ryu wondered why he started to tell this _story_.

"Sad, isn't it? For their lives to drastically change like that, because of some irresponsible people. Even sadder when the older brother had to bear with that memory alone, as the trauma was too much for the younger brother to even remember. Even if he would decide to turn himself in, he loved his brother so much to consider leaving him to fend for himself. He had lost trust in adults since then and wouldn't allow others but himself to take care of his younger brother. Kind of prideful, don't you think?"

"I wonder... what would happen to those siblings?"

He chuckled before turning towards Ryu.

"What do you think would happen? I haven't fully written this script after all."

Ryu blinked back at him.

"I don't get you. What was so hard about that?"

The man smiled weakly.

"The older brother, in order to reawaken his younger brother's memories... had dwelled into the world of crime himself. Yet, because he had loved his brother so much; he intended to make his brother truly believed he had changed fully and make his brother hate him. Do you think the brother was stupid?"

"Why? Why would the brother do that?"

The man shrugged at him again.

"Perhaps... because the younger brother had respected him too much? Knowing that... and still having that taint in his soul for having killed a person in a fit of rage, don't you think it was painful? Heh... such a complicated plot, I wonder what got into my head for thinking up such stories..."

"I think... if the younger brother should find out about what his brother did, I think he would try to stop his brother. I know it... because he should also care a lot about his older brother. I don't think he could ever hate his older brother..."

The man glanced down towards Ryu, his expression suddenly appeared very sad.

"You are really similar like him, as I expected. Yeah... I guess the story would inevitably go through that kind of route. I guess, I had to prepare myself to writing a sad ending."

Ryu watched the man stare towards the sky before turning towards him.

"Thanks... it was nice talking to you. But I guess it's time we part ways." he said as he started to leave. It startled Ryu when the man suddenly called back at him.

He turned around as the man smiled at him again.

"You know, kid... somehow I think, you should give a bit of trust on your important friends. If your friends really know you on the inside, I don't think they would truly abandon you the moment they found out about your background. This is my kind advice.", he said as he sauntered away.

Ryu froze in his stance as he was taken aback by the man's words. Honestly, had he been found out from the beginning? He frowned. Somehow, he wondered if the _story_ that the man had told him earlier... was really a script that he wrote or he was actually talking about himself.

Somehow he had to wonder...

xxx

Tanaka Yumehito laughed uncharacteristically as Komukai Noriko turned her head towards him.

"This little guy was really good. He switched the laptop. This one was not mine!"

Really, it was as that kid had told him... three years ago. He knew that both of them were very similar... and should equally be strong at heart as well.

Yumehito smiled. Perhaps his script would really go exactly the way he had written after all...


End file.
